Nursing student gets $1,000 scholarship

For the second year in a row, Missouri Southern has had the honor of educating a student chosen for a Missouri League for Nursing scholarship.

Julie Sheldon, a junior at Missouri Southern, received the $1,000 scholarship earlier this year. Students in the state of Missouri who qualify for the scholarship must meet several requirements, as stated by the organization.

According to the Missouri League for Nursing official website, the scholarship is available to “LPN students; registered nurse students above the freshman level in associate degree/diploma programs; RN students above the sophomore level in baccalaureate nursing programs; or MSN candidates who have completed at least 15 hours of the courses required for the advanced degree and hold an active license in Missouri.”

Sheldon was utterly surprised that she was even nominated for this award by the nursing staff at Missouri Southern. After an application process and a letter written by Mari Beth Linder, Professor and Department Head of the Department of Nursing, Sheldon was asked to write an essay about why she wanted to be a nurse.

“I had shared an experience about when my son had been in a bad motorcycle accident several years ago,” said Sheldon. “I wrote about his recovery and how it made me rethink [nursing]. When I was younger I had actually wanted to be in the medical profession, and I kind of just got off track with different things in my life. When that happened to him it made me realize, you know, I’ve had other jobs but none that I really felt passionate about like I would nursing. I was at a point in my life where, luckily, my husband was very supportive, and it allowed me to go back to nursing school.”

The seminar to present Sheldon’s award was located at Tan-Tar- A, a resort in Osage Beach, Mo. Sheldon’s essay won her the scholarship and a year membership to the Missouri League for Nursing Association. The free membership, which normally costs 50 dollars per year, will allow Sheldon to participate in scholarship seminars across the state and receive a bi-monthly magazine through the MLN association.

“The magazine will be interesting to read,” said Sheldon, “mostly about the different topics in the nursing field.”

The nursing department at Missouri Southern has exuded nothing but excitement for Sheldon and her nursing success in the state of Missouri.

“It was very exciting for Julie’s essay to be selected as a winner from this statewide competition,” said Linder. “Her essay was very compelling.  She will be an excellent nurse!”

Sheldon feels honored and grateful that her awarded scholarship was a good reflection on behalf of Missouri Southern and the nursing program.